Question

Explain the nature of psychological data.

Answer 1

The nature of psychological data can be explained through the following points:

• The psychological data are not independent entities: The physical or social context, the persons involved and the time of the behaviour affects the data. For instance, an individual behaves differently in a group than being alone.

• The quality and nature of data is affected by the method of data collection: It is possible that while conducting a personal interview, an individual provides with answers which are different than his/her behaviour as observed by the researcher.

• Data are facts without any meaning: This suggests that data do not speak themselves about reality. They only acquire meaning when placed in a context by the researcher.